Blind kids ‘see’ special Nutcracker production

Dec. 2, 2011

Updated Aug. 21, 2013 1:17 p.m.

1 of 21

Visually impaired children and their families from the Blind Childrenâ€™s Learning Center in North Tustin attended the The Maple Balletâ€™s blind touch tour of "The Nutcracker." ROD VEAL, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

1 of 21

Kimberly Brubacher, left, lets 3-year-old Mina Lamara touch her tiara which is part of her costume. ROD VEAL, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

1 of 21

Rebecca Steege, 11, gets to try on a costume head from The Nutcracker ballet Thursday at the the Maple Conservatory of Dance. ROD VEAL, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

1 of 21

A prop from the Nutcracker sits nearby as ballerinas from the production place a costume head on a visitor. ROD VEAL, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

1 of 21

A ballerina helps Jordan Overby, right, during the touch tour of the Nutcracker ballet Thursday. ROD VEAL, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

1 of 21

Ballerinas mill about teaching blind children about ballet during a "touch tour" of The Nutcracker production Thursday at the dance school in Irvine. ROD VEAL, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

1 of 21

Taylor Cox, 8 of Huntington Beach, touches a prop from The Nutcracker Thursday. ROD VEAL, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

1 of 21

The director explains the story of the Nutcracker to blind children and their families Thursday. ROD VEAL, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

1 of 21

Dancers from The Maple Youth Balletâ€™s "The Nutcracker" are introduced to blind children and their families. ROD VEAL, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

1 of 21

Seven-year-old Brennan Lamara gets to touch the costume head of the Rat King from The Nutcracker during a blind touch tour. ROD VEAL, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

1 of 21

Jordan Overby gets a chance to touch the Nutcracker toy ROD VEAL, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

Blind and visually impaired children and their families from the Blind Childrenâ€™s Learning Center in North Tustin attended the The Maple Balletâ€™s blind touch tour of "The Nutcracker." ROD VEAL, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

1 of 21

Ballerina Amanda Dennis, right, and a fellow dancer perform for blind children Thursday. ROD VEAL, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

1 of 21

Ballerinas enter The Maple Balletâ€™s blind touch tour of "The Nutcracker." The line of children seated, left, were from the Blind Children's Learning Center in North Tustin. ROD VEAL, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

1 of 21

Ballerinas from the the Maple Conservatory greet blind children before giving them a small ballet lesson Thursday. ROD VEAL, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

1 of 21

Ballerinas teach blind children and their family members ballet steps during an event Thursday at the Maple Conservatory of Dance.ROD VEAL, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

1 of 21

A prop cannon from the Nutcracker sits in the dance room at the Maple Conservatory of Dance where ballerina Alli Willson teaches Keilani Sullivan, 3 of Lake Forest, a few ballet moves Thursday. ROD VEAL, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

1 of 21

Blind and visually impaired children and their families from the Blind Childrenâ€™s Learning Center in North Tustin attended the The Maple Balletâ€™s blind touch tour of "The Nutcracker." The ballet allowed the visually impaired children lessons in ballet before letting them have a tactile experience by touching props and finally performing a piece from "The Nutcracker" Thursday afternoon. ROD VEAL, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

1 of 21

Taylor Cox, 8 of Huntington Beach, left, touches snow used in The Nutcracker performance. ROD VEAL, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

1 of 21

Blind and visually impaired children and their families from the Blind Childrenâ€™s Learning Center in North Tustin pose with the Maple Ballet's "The Nutcracker" ballerinas. ROD VEAL, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

Visually impaired children and their families from the Blind Childrenâ€™s Learning Center in North Tustin attended the The Maple Balletâ€™s blind touch tour of "The Nutcracker." ROD VEAL, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

The Nutcracker

Maple Youth Ballet's production of The Nutcracker runs from Dec. 17 to 22 at the Northwood Performing Arts Theatre in Irvine.

The Maple Youth Ballet is the non-profit associated with the Maple Conservatory of Dance. The ballet offers different outreach programs each year.

For more information, visit mapleconservatory.com.

For more on the Blind Children's Learning Center, visit blindkids.org.

IRVINE – Eight-year-old Taylor Cox has attended a production of "The Nutcracker" every year since age 2, but can still honestly say she's never seen the ballet.

That's because Cox was born without eyes. Cox, who has a rare condition called anophthalmia, instead listens to the music, to the sound of the dancers' shoes, and to her mother's play-by-play explanations to visualize what's happening on stage.

On Thursday, Cox was among a dozen students from the Blind Children's Learning Center who were treated to a unique preview of The Nutcracker at the Maple Conservatory of Dance.

The children, ages 3 to 12, sat with their families to watch 13 ballerinas from the Maple Youth Ballet perform the Snow Dance, a scene from the group's upcoming production of The Nutcracker.

Children with partial vision could see, to some extent, the ballerinas dressed in white tutus and sparkling tiaras, dancing the part of the snowflakes. Others heard the wintery orchestral music, felt the synchronized thudding of pointe shoes on the studio floor, and imagined the fluffy artificial snow fluttering to the ground.

"I pictured [the ballerinas] doing spins and plies," said Cox. "And at the end I pictured the snowstorm and they were doing circles and doing lines."

Each child was also each paired up with a dancer, who helped them explore set props such as the Rat King's head, a replica of the Candy Palace, and the Nutcracker.

"I liked to look at all the stuff that the dancers showed," said Rebecca Steege, 11, who was born premature and is blind. "I liked the sleigh [best] because you could actually sit in it and it could actually move."

"[I wanted] to teach them some simple ballet steps so that they not only hear the music, but they can feel it in their bodies," said Charles Maple, owner and director of the Maple Conservatory of Dance.

Sawyer King, 4, was too shy to dance, but watched as ballerina Alison Glander, 17, showed him some moves. King was born with retinitis pigmentosa, which means he lacks peripheral vision and sees nothing but silhouettes in indoor lighting.

"This [was] an amazing opportunity for our children to have an exposure to the arts and build up confidence with the experience in a really safe, positive environment," said Joan Trumbull, pediatric occupational therapist and director of therapy services at the Blind Children's Learning Center.

User Agreement

Keep it civil and stay on topic. No profanity, vulgarity, racial
slurs or personal attacks. People who harass others or joke about
tragedies will be blocked. By posting your comment, you agree to
allow Orange County Register Communications, Inc. the right to
republish your name and comment in additional Register publications
without any notification or payment.